Ride the Rockies Day 2: Happy Attitude Adjustment Day!

The second day of Ride The Rockies is always Attitude Adjustment Day. I don’t know why. But for the past seven tours, I consistently start that day in a state of anxiety, annoyance and fatigue. I wasn’t really aware of it for the first five tours — probably because I was mostly riding by myself, and no one was there to call me on it. That’s not the case anymore.

“I need an attitude adjustment,” I told my riding buddies Rick and Sheila this morning, after spending about two hours in a state of permanent sulk — unmoved by the lovely farmlands we passed by, oblivious to the warm sun and good company. I was a little snarly.

“You said that last year, too,” Sheila replied, and kept pedaling. “But that’s okay. You do what you have to do.”

I had started the morning in a bad way. We had to catch a 5:30 am bus from Cedaredge — where our slightly stinky hotel was — to Hotchkiss, the start of the ride. That was bad enough. But at about 5 am, I made the discovery that the transport company had deemed my bags overloaded, and threatened that if I didn’t redistribute them, I was going to be hauling them on my bike with me. Or something along those lines.

So I spent the bus ride frantically calling the company, trying to make sure I could still get my stuff where it needed to go. The little bus itself was filled to capacity and then some — I was staring into the underarm of a standing rider for most of the 45-minute ride. Upon reaching Hotchkiss, it was a litany of further annoyances — a bike seat that had been placed too high, cyclists that were being too rude, long lines at the Portajohns, misplaced sunglasses… you name it. I was in near-tantrum mode. Even Pancake Man couldn’t make a dent in my funk.

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Cycling buddies Sheila Paxton and Rick Jacquemard, both from Boulder, standing in front of my first Attitude Adjustment.

But just past Somerset, we climbed a slight rise and were faced with one of the most breathtaking views — a crystal clear, still river reflecting the snow-capped mountains behind them. Everyone stopped, the cameras came out, and even I felt my sour mood lift. How amazing it is, to be able to travel these roads by bike, getting views that you just can’t appreciate by car. That was Attitude Adjustment One.

We continued our climbing, the road curving with the river. Riding behind Rick, I noticed his head was bobbing around to a beat I couldn’t hear. I asked him what was going on up there. “I’m happy,” he said. “I’m having a good time.” Attitude Adjustment Two.

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Cyclists top out over McClure Pass after a tough climb.

The climb itself was rather brutal — more than 1500 feet within 5 miles, so it was steep; there was no shade from the midday sun, and people just bent their heads down and tried to get a pace going. Or just keep moving fast enough that they wouldn’t fall over. As we approached the past, Aspen trees appeared and grew thick on the side of the road, lending a little shade. I also noticed that we were actually getting a TAILWIND. For the first time in the tour. On a climb, no less. Attitude Adjustment Three.

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The ultimate Attitude Adjustment -- ice cream.

We topped McClure Pass, celebrated with highly unhealthy food. Sheila was motivated. “I say we manifest some ice cream at the next rest stop.” Sheila was speaking my language. And sure enough, after a fast, lovely descent into Redstone, we found ice cream at the General Store in the cozy little town, and promptly got ourselves set up with my very favorite food in the world, sat ourselves down on a cool block of marble, and surveyed the happy but exhausted crowd around us. Attitude Adjustment Four.

The only sticking point was my still-missing sunglasses; descents are hard without eye protection, so passing cyclists probably saw me weeping uncontrollably as my eyes struggled to deal with the dehydrating wind. As I rolled into the campsite at Carbondale’s Roaring Fork High School, Sheila noticed the Bolle booth, just filled with high-end sunglasses that were way beyond my price range. “See if they’ll let you try some out,” she said. I asked, and I am now set up with an amazing pair of glasses that adjust to light changes AND — as Greg the Bolle Guy told me — are made with the same stuff as Black Hawk helicopters. I have battle-tested glasses for a day. Bonus Attitude Adjustment.

So tomorrow, Independence Pass should be attitude-free. I have my friends, I have my hard-core glasses, and I think I left my attitude with my old sunglasses, somewhere near Somerset. If you find them, just leave them be.

There are some things I miss about it (did it for the first four tours), and some things I don’t. Our friend is camping, and said Sunday night the sprinklers went on and doused half the campsite. Then there are barking dogs, local kids who like to do repeated drive-bys and scream at the campsite at 3 am… no, I don’t miss camping.

Jonathan

Loved the blog, Ingrid! I used to go to a 7AM meeting in Denver called Attitude Adjustment. I liked that you counted your AA’s, because in my experience we need to play an active role in finding them. They’re there, we just have to gather them in….or not. You guys rock!!!

Letty

Thanks for sharing your experience!

McIntosh, Ruth

Great article! Thanks so much.

Praying for safety and good health for all!
Ruth McIntosh, Pekin, IL

COJeannie

If Mother Nature in all her glory can’t fix it, it can’t be fixed. You’ve always responded to the beauties of this wonderful place, and it’s great to know that Rick and the other attitude adjusters brought you back into the Zone again.

In 2012, I asked a former colleague whether he was interested in running the Chicago Marathon. Two weeks later, he asked if I was interested in Ride the Rockies. I got a road bike, got on the tour, and have yet to regret it. This will be my third RTR.

Daniel Petty is the digital director of sports for The Denver Post. He competed in track and cross country all four years inc college, but that was six years ago. Now, he's doing Ride the Rockies for the first time.